The Fitness Pro – Canton Citizenhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com
Canton news, sports, and featuresSun, 18 Feb 2018 19:41:54 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.14http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cropped-citizen-sign2-32x32.jpgThe Fitness Pro – Canton Citizenhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com
3232Fitness Pro: No Replacement for Hard Workhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2011/04/14/fitness-pro-april/
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 04:03:06 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=4292I was pleased to hear last week that Coach Dave Bohane is back in the saddle as head coach of the Canton High School football program. For one, he’s a proven leader with a good track record, and he knows how to get the best out of his players. Secondly, and maybe less importantly, the eighth graders I coach in Westwood won’t have to face a Bohane-led middle school team next season (although I know he’ll find a more than capable replacement). It’s a good fit for the program, and I wish him nothing but luck in his second stint at the helm.

While reading the Citizen’s article on his hiring the other day, I was happy to hear his philosophy on offseason conditioning and preparation, specifically when it comes to weight training.

“Bohane admits he is a big weight training room and fitness guy, and he will be encouraging all players who want to play football and who are not playing spring sports to get in the weight and fitness rooms as soon as possible,” Citizen reporter Mike Berger wrote in his piece published on March 31.

Championships are earned when no one’s watching, during the long hours spent in the gym while others are lounging around. If you want to be the best, you have to train to be the best. Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? I’m a big believer that success on the field in the fall directly corresponds with the work put in during the offseason months — and it all starts now.

I get a lot of questions from both young athletes and parents alike regarding the age in which it is appropriate to start weight training, and what a program for a teenager might look like. While there is no 100 percent, clear-cut list of “rules” in which to work with, there are some suggestions most young athletes can follow in order to get stronger and keep themselves healthy while doing so.

First of all, safety is the main concern, and learning how to strength train correctly should be the first goal of any aspiring young athlete. I can’t tell you how many times in the gyms and weight rooms I’ve been in over the years that I’ve seen youngsters do something incorrectly or without a spotter. If an athlete needs the help, he/she should seek it out even before they start, whether that is in the form of a coach in the weight room or a staff member at your local gym. It would be a horrible thing for an athlete to have to miss time in or out of season due to an injury caused by an improper lift.

That leads to a second point about safety: if a teenager is not there to learn the proper technique and to use the equipment the appropriate way, then they shouldn’t even bother stepping foot in the place to begin with. A high school weight room or a fitness center is not a daycare, and the risks and dangers become much higher if someone’s in there just to mess around and goof off.

Another question I get a lot when it comes to gym memberships and training is what age is appropriate for a teenager to begin a fitness regimen. Many people believe that strength training can stunt a teenager’s growth, or that it is unsafe for a youngster to lift until they are an adult. Unfortunately, that’s a bit of a misconception; strength training (while closely monitored in the right setting) is beneficial, and as long as certain safety measures are taken there is far less risk for injury.

According to Avery D. Faigenbaum of the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), in his paper entitled “Youth Resistance Training,” there is no evidence to support claims of stunted growth or high risks involving strength training for young adults.

“Current observations indicate no evidence of a decrease in stature in children who regularly perform resistance exercise in a controlled environment,” he writes, adding, “With appropriate supervision and instruction, the risks associated with youth resistance training are not greater than other activities in which children and adolescents regularly participate.”

Under the close supervision of a trained professional, whether it is a coach or a trainer, great gains can be made by young athletes in their individual sports. However, the opportunity for injury to occur is greatly increased if a youngster is doing an exercise without the correct form, or while using an inappropriate amount of weight. The safest way to encourage young athletes to train is to start them slow, using a lot of body weight exercises before moving to ones involving free weights and machines. Also, a proper warm-up and stretching before or after a workout is always encouraged; it’s never good to jump on a bench press or in a squat rack “cold.” Starting from scratch is tough, but form and execution is paramount over everything else, so there’s going to be patience needed on the part of the athlete and their coaches.

In the end-of-the-year “Top 10” polls in newspapers across Massachusetts, we always see the same handful of schools. They’re those perennial favorites, the ones that seem to always be at or near the top every season. Some will argue that yearly success is the result of the enrollment at larger schools, and while part of that is true, I would bet my paycheck that each one of those perennial contenders has a strength program in place, and also the commitment in place from athletes in the offseason, from seniors all the way down to the freshmen. It’s the only way to build a winner, year in and year out. It seems that Coach Bohane realizes that, and I for one hope his kids follow suit. Canton has a beautifully renovated facility in which to train; it’s time to put it to good use.

]]>Fitness Pro: Wise Words from a Fitness Legendhttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2011/02/10/fitness-pro/
Thu, 10 Feb 2011 11:32:18 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1231As an overall fan of fitness and the fitness industry, I was saddened to hear of the passing of one of the industry’s real giants, Mr. Jack LaLanne, who passed away at the ripe old age of 96 on January 23. Known for his more than 70 years in the business as a guru and pioneer in the field, LaLanne was a pro’s pro in every sense of the word and was a real trailblazer for all of us who make a living in the fitness industry.

I think it’s safe to say that without him and his contributions, many of us would not be in the positions we are today.

Now my own memories of LaLanne are of him in his later years, slinging everything from vitamins to juicers in those late-night infomercials with his wife, Elaine, by his side. Over the past week or so I’ve read many of the memorials and obit pieces written in his honor; it’s been a real treat learning more about his life’s work and the impact he had on so many people throughout his career.

Many of those articles written online include links to shorter clips of LaLanne during his run on The Jack LaLanne Show, which ran from 1951 until 1985 on ABC’s family of networks throughout the country. LaLanne would host the program, which included a variety of different exercises for his viewers to follow along with, but which also featured educational segments that focused on diet and other components of a healthy lifestyle. LaLanne would pull up a chair and speak directly into the camera each week, and if you take some time to view these segments you can come away with a lot of inspiring stuff.

One such segment I watched on Youtube focused on happiness in general, and how so many of the people LaLanne interacted with on a daily basis seemed so unhappy with their lives, even with all the material items (or “modern conveniences,” as he put it) they had in their possession. To LaLanne, a person could have all of the material goods in the world, but if they were unhappy with themselves and their bodies on a fundamental level then ultimately they were destined to spend their lives worrying and dissatisfied.

“That’s the important thing about life, students, is to be happy,” LaLanne says in the clip. “What’s the good of living, what’s the good of having a lot of money or having fine clothes or driving a fancy automobile if you’re miserable all of the time?” He makes a good point, and even though that clip is more than 50 years old, his words ring true today.

I reference that short segment because I hear the stories people tell me every day when they come to sign up for a membership to the club or come to me for training advice.

Many people tell me that their own physical well being has taken a back seat to their careers or their families, and that one of the reasons they’ve decided to take part in an exercise regimen is to improve not only their appearance, but their self-esteem and confidence. In the everyday hustle and bustle of life we oftentimes get away from what truly makes us feel good about ourselves, which is so much of the reason why we decide to make the commitment to improve our own physical and mental health through exercising and eating better.

In my opinion, there’s really nothing better than the feeling you have after a good workout, leaving the gym knowing that you pushed yourself and spent some quality time focusing on you. I want you to pay attention to how you feel after your next time at the gym, or after your next workout at home. Sure we’re tired, sure we might be sore the next day or two, but doesn’t it feel good to break a real sweat and focus on ourselves for once?

Usually we’re so busy caring about others, whether it’s our family or our friends or our jobs, it’s nice to finally take a few minutes to focus on us. And that’s exactly what exercise is: time for us to focus on us.

According to LaLanne, regular diet, exercise, and staying healthy is paramount to living a happy life, and without those things included in our daily routines, we are destined to be unhealthy and ultimately unhappy.

“I’m convinced, if you will spend just a little more time trying to eat better – eat the foods in their natural state because we’ve gotten so far away from our natural eating habits it’s pathetic,” he says in that old clip.

“And another thing is to get more physical activity,” he says, adding, “We know that this wonderful body of ours cannot be functioning right; it can’t be happy and it can’t repair itself properly if you don’t give it the right amount of exercise … it affects your mind and you have these tensions and frustrations that people have too much, and you’re just kind of down in the dumps and you’re body is hanging and saggy, your face is hanging and saggy, everything is down, and it’s not conducive to smiling and being happy.”

So go ahead, guys. Take Mr. LaLanne’s advice this week.

Have a few great workouts and see how you feel afterwards. You might just look in the mirror and crack a smile.

]]>Fitness Pro: Cardio: The long and short of ithttp://www.thecantoncitizen.com/2010/03/25/fitness-pro-cardio-the-long-and-short-of-it/
Thu, 25 Mar 2010 12:59:12 +0000http://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=1824Cardiorespiratory programming is a tough task for a lot of personal trainers, mainly due to the fact that many of our clientele just can’t stand it. They tell us that it’s strenuous, that it takes too long, and that it can be boring. But let’s be honest: They do have a pretty good argument there on all three fronts. Whichever way you slice it, getting on a treadmill or a stationary bike isn’t exactly the most exciting way to spend one’s time. I’m not sure if I should admit this publicly or not, but my own personal cardio routine isn’t number one on my “Things I Can’t Wait to Do Today” list. In fact, it’s probably down toward the lower end. For me, it’s those first few seconds after I have jumped on the treadmill and started to walk or jog — that sense of dread I have as I ask myself, “I have to do this for how long?” Thirty or 45 minutes later my legs are shot, I’m drenched in sweat, and I’ve seen my life flash before my eyes at least twice — and that’s before I realize I’ll probably have to do it all over again tomorrow.

All kidding aside, while it might not be the most enjoyable aspect of a fitness routine, cardio training is an important one, maybe even the most important. Diet and resistance training can only take you so far, but if you want to burn excess calories and lose fat, cardio has to be a part of your program. Other noted benefits of cardiorespiratory fitness include reduced blood pressure, increased HDL (“good”) cholesterol, increased energy levels, and improved sleep patterns. Not too shabby, right?

In its 2006 Guidelines for Cardiovascular Stimulus, the American College of Sports Medicine recommended cardio training three to five days a week for a duration of anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. Now, I’m sure some of you are saying that you don’t have time for that kind of commitment to a cardiovascular program, but hear me out. Those guidelines correspond to an entire day’s worth of activity, so don’t feel as though you have to set aside a huge block of time when you can split it up throughout your day.

If you’re a novice exerciser, work your way up to that 30, 40, or even 50-minute mark. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t reach your goals at first; they will come with time. Music always helps, so make sure you have your iPod or Walkman ready to go. And if you feel like you can’t do it alone then bring someone along. A walking group or club can do wonders because it not only gives you support in a group setting, but it will also make you accountable to get out there every day. Get your friends and family involved in your workout program; it might just be the spark of inspiration they need to start their own.

Also, make sure you’re physically ready for cardio, meaning you should be allowing yourself at least a few minutes to warm up (AFAA, the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, recommends 8-12 minutes) and to get the blood flowing, as well as to do some static stretching. Cooling down afterwards is just as important: three to five minutes of decreasing intensity followed by more stretching at the end of your session. Make sure you’ve got on the proper footwear; if your running shoes are still products of the 80s or 90s then it’s time to head down to the sporting goods store for an upgrade.

If you’ve been making cardio a part of your routine but are getting bored doing the same old thing, then that’s a sign that it’s time for a change. If you’re a member of a gym or health club, try and include a few different machines in your routine each week. Stationary bikes, stair steppers, and elliptical can give you just as good of a workout as that dreaded treadmill can. You should never be bored with your workouts at the gym; throw yourself a curveball once in a while and see how your body responds. For example, I just took my first-ever spin class a couple of weeks ago. It was a tough workout (our instructor Andrea practically wiped the floor with me), but I felt great afterwards and am now going to try and fit a class into my weekly regimen.

All in all, while cardio can be a burden for many of us, it’s a burden that certainly does pay off with all sorts of benefits. Don’t make excuses when it comes to your routine; chances are you can find the time in your week to fit it in. Start slow at first, and eventually you’ll build up your endurance and it will become habit. Consistency is the key, and if you keep at it maybe cardio can become something you learn to love — or at least survive.